


it just makes sense

by InLust



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Best Friends to Lovers, Drunk kiss, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Mutual Pining, sylvia accidentally oversharing, the morning after awkwardness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 04:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17738900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InLust/pseuds/InLust
Summary: They were friends. They were helmswomen together. They see each other everyday they pilot together. They literally have no place to hide from each other on a ship in the middle of space.Joann drops her head with a dejected sigh. Maybe a kiss was just a kiss.





	it just makes sense

**Author's Note:**

> the fucking glances and tumblr drove me to write for this ship and honestly i have zero regrets they're cute as fuck and we need more of them

It’s usually a beautiful day on the USS Discovery when shift change occurs because almost everyone on the ship is moving at the same time in concert. 

Well, it’s beautiful for most people. For Keyla, it kind of sucks. That’s mainly due to the massive hangover she’s got going on. What she really needs is some caffeine and a hangover cure as soon as possible. 

Her quarters open and just across the hall, another set of doors slide open at the same exact time. 

Joann steps out and pauses mid step when she notices Keyla in the doorway. 

Keyla feels a sudden panic bubbling inside of her and a warmth spread across her body as she recalls the details of last night’s party. 

_ Keyla’s arm lazily around Joann’s shoulder. Joann carefully trying to guide Keyla to her room. The joking and giggling as they stumble their way through the halls. And then… _

_ Keyla tripping into her doorway with her arm pulling Joann in. Joann stumbling against her, holding her up.  _

Their faces were so close and Keyla could see Joann’s face clearly in front of her. Everything seemed to fall into place in that moment like the universe suddenly made sense and all Keyla thought of was how much she wanted to kiss her.

And suddenly, they were kissing. 

It’s the kind of kissing that had Keyla’s knees buckling and Joann’s arm around her waist to steady her. It made Keyla’s heart pound inside of her and her hands eager to hold Joann as close to her as possible.

The desire inside her flourished with each passing moment as Joann’s full lips kiss hers so intently and perfectly. 

The memory is frighteningly vivid that Keyla swallows. She can feel the blush reach her cheeks. 

Joann must be thinking the same because she averts her eyes bashfully, desperately looking anywhere that isn’t Keyla. Keyla feels her heart just drop into her stomach because she’s sure it’s her fault that Joann is being awkward. And it makes her feel awkward that they’re doing this awkward doorway thing in the first place. 

Keyla wills herself to say anything to make it less weird. She opens her mouth to say something, but her stomach flips inside of her. She swears she doesn’t have anything left in her stomach to empty out but something bubbles up her throat and she rushes back into her room covering her mouth. 

\------------------

Joann pokes at her breakfast with very little enthusiasm. She’s not feeling entirely great but she should eat something. Especially since she’s going to take the helm soon. 

At the reminder, Joann thinks about Keyla and the night before. Her arm around Keyla’s slim waist. Keyla’s hands on her cheeks. Their lips pressed against each other. She licks her lips unconsciously at the thought. 

_ Keyla giggles against her cheek. “Goodnight, Jo,” she says hotly before falling back into her room.  _

_ Joann feels her cheeks burn before she rushes into her room.  _

It’s hard to believe that last night actually happened. While Joann’s thought very little of how much she’s liked liked Keyla. It turns out, feeling Keyla’s lips and body pressed against hers, all but confirms their undeniable chemistry. 

But this morning…

The blush on Keyla face, the panic in her eyes, and then the _running_ _away_. 

Joann knew she should’ve said something sooner because that lingering stare was too awkward of a moment to go on without words. They were friends. They were helmswomen together. They see each other everyday they pilot together. They literally have no place to hide from each other on a ship in the middle of space. 

Joann drops her head with a dejected sigh. Maybe a kiss was just a kiss. 

But she liked it. She _likes_ it a lot. And she wouldn’t mind doing it again with Keyla because everything seems to make sense now. The communication that comes faster than either of them need to ask for. The suppressed smiles when someone says something wayward. The lingering smiles when they reach a new destination together.

It’s not just bridge chemistry that happens because they’re Starfleet. It’s the chemistry they share between the two of them. 

Joann can’t imagine working with someone other than Keyla. She knows what Keyla needs to hear on the bridge and Keyla always listens to her. And when they solve a problem, it flows like a symphony. 

“Why so glum, chum?” 

Joann looks up to see Tilly taking the seat next to her. She takes a breath and pulls a smile on her face. “Nothing, it’s just morning,” Joann simply explains as she shifts the eggs on her plate. 

Despite the smile on her face, Tilly agrees, “Mornings are terrible but I don’t think I’d ever be able to do the graveyard shift. It’s terrifying and quiet. Well terrifying because it’s quiet. Granted there are also other people working the same shift, there’s just something about the hours between 0000 and 0500 that makes my skin crawl.” 

Joann snickers at Tilly. “How do you have so much energy right now? Did you have five espressos before your burrito?” 

Tilly’s mid bite when she forces herself to swallow so she can answer immediately. “Michael woke me up an hour before my alarm and forced me to run a half marathon with her. I thought I was going to die and I think I did a little bit after I stopped to throw up. But I don’t know, after our shower, I feel great.” 

Joann’s eyes widen comically and she can’t help but clarify, “ _Our_ shower?” 

Tilly chokes on her burrito, realizing what she had just said. She coughs vigorously as she tries to explain herself but to no avail because she keeps coughing. “What? Are yo--you-- _crazy_?” she wheezes out. “Clearly I meant our shower as in hers and mine. As in we showered. At the same time, but separately. Obviously.” She coughs harshly to clear her throat when she scans the mess hall for as distraction. “Oh! Keyla! Hey, come sit with us!” She yells. 

Joann’s eyes widen once more and she stares to where Tilly is yelling. Keyla is there, holding what looks to be a giant cup of coffee in her hand, stopping like a deer in headlights. 

They stare at each other, wondering what either of them should do. Joann expects Keyla to run off in the other direction again, but Tilly’s already made a scene. Keyla takes a sip of her coffee and starts to walk over to them. 

“Hey,” she greets gently as she pulls up the seat carefully. She looks exhausted and far worse than Joann had seen her earlier. 

Joann immediately leans in with concern. “Are you feeling okay?”

Her cheeks start to pink as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, just a bit hungover,” she admits with a little bit of shame. She bites her lip briefly and Joann can’t help but glance down. “How are you feeling?” Her eyes are on Joann. 

But Tilly answers first, “I feel fine. Just fine.” Tilly laughs to compensate for her earlier blunder and suddenly starts rambling about the benefits of vitamins and electrolytes to avoid any redirect or questions from either one of them. 

Unfortunately, Tilly’s energy isn’t infectious to either of them but Joann’s thankful for her presence. After this morning’s awkwardness, she wouldn’t even begin to know what to say to Keyla. Tilly fills up the space, chatting away. 

Keyla tries to actively listen but she knows when Tilly’s being weirder than usual. Her eyes glance to Joann. 

Joann raises her eyebrows in agreement.

There’s a small smile at the corner of Keyla’s lips as she drinks her coffee. 

\------------------

The shift change happens and Tilly books it for Engineering, leaving Joann and Keyla alone to head up to the Bridge. 

They walk together like they usually do. Except the air between them is still tense because they haven’t talked about last night. Neither one of them know how to bring it up.

“Uh, so, Tilly?” Keyla casually starts as they reach the lift. “She was a bit _perkier_ than usual.”

Joann chuckles before glancing around them for any listeners. She steps beside Keyla so she can answer, hushed. “Apparently, she and Michael are--” she wags her eyebrows suggestively.

It takes Keyla a moment before it dawns on her what Joann is trying not to say aloud. “Oh my god, really?” she whispers in shock as the lift door opens and people step off around them. 

They get on quickly to continue the conversation in a bit more private space.

“Computer to the Bridge,” Joann commands before she continues. “Apparently, Michael made her go for a run earlier this morning and she felt awful, but--and I quote--’ _after our shower, I felt great_.’”

Keyla’s eyes widen. “ _Our shower_?” she repeats. “That’s exactly what she said?” 

Joann nods. “She tried very hard to explain herself but you know how she gets. The harder she tries to lie--”

“The worse she gets,” Keyla finishes knowingly. They both share a laugh. 

Joann feels her spirits lift, hearing Keyla’s laugh. And once again, being around Keyla makes sense. She looks at Keyla with an affectionate smile on her face. 

“It’s about time something happened between them, huh?” Keyla goes on. “We were talking about it the other day.” 

“Yes,” Joann agrees, remembering the conversation. “They’ve gotten quite close since Michael came aboard.”

Keyla looks at Joann. “They have.” She really looks at Joann and for a moment, it feels like the night before all over again. “I’m happy for them.” 

Joann keeps thinking about the night before. The way Keyla laughed against her as she carried her through the halls. Then the way Keyla’s lips felt against hers, soft and wet. 

Keyla stares at Joann. Inside her heart pounds inside of her. She wants to kiss Joann again to feel that spark and heat that they had last night. Joann looks like she wants to do the same because her eyes fall to Keyla’s lips. She unconsciously licks her lips. 

She can feel herself leaning in because Joann is already moving by a pull of a magnet. But she stops herself with a reorienting breath. “We should talk about last night,” she quickly lets out. 

Joann snaps out of her thoughts and clears her throat, standing straight. “Yes, we probably should.” 

Silence lapses between them before they both simultaneously try, “Last night.” They smile at each other. “You go,” they both say. 

Joann laughs to herself quietly. “This isn’t going to work, so you should speak first.” 

“Are you sure? Because you can go,” Keyla offers quickly. “I want to know what you have to say.” 

“No, no,” Joann insists. “I want to know what you’re thinking.”

“Well, I want to know what you’re thinking,” Keyla playfully throws back. 

Joann shakes her head with an endearing smile. She turns to Keyla and holds out her fist. “Rock, paper, scissor?”

Keyla turns to Joann with her fist on her palm. 

“One, two, thr--”

Keyla abruptly stops counting to cover Joann’s hand with hers and blurts out, “I wanted to kiss you last night.”

Joann looks stunned. “Uh--”

Keyla laughs because she knows how Joann is when she’s caught off guard. “You heard me. I wanted to kiss you last night,” she repeats herself carefully for Joann to process it. 

“Oh, I heard you,” Joann responds as the gears in her head continue to turn. “I just--I wasn’t expecting that because this morning you ran away.” 

Keyla pinches the bridge of her nose as the embarrassment really hits her. “God, no. I wasn’t running away from you. I just needed to throw up again.” She laughs incredulously. “Did you really think I was running away from you?” 

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to think,” Joann admits with relief. “We were drinking last night and I walked you back and then we were kissing outside of your door.” 

Keyla presses her lips together shyly. “Yeah...I just wanted to.” 

Joann tilts her head with a soft smile to catch Keyla’s eyes. “I’m glad because I really liked it.” Keyla’s eyes brighten. “I’d like to kiss you again.” 

“Same.” Keyla giggles at how much of a teenager she sounds like right now.

The lift slows to a stop and they both immediately turn to the door opening with their hands firmly at their sides. 

Captain Pike steps onto the lift. “Good morning ladies,” he greets with a charming smile as always. 

“Captain,” they both greet.

“How are we looking this morning?” he goes on staring at the lift doors as they continue to go up. 

“On course for Starbase 12 at Warp 7,” Keyla answers staring at Joann. Her hand brushes against Joann’s subtly.

“With clear skies,” Joann finishes with a smile, slipping her hand into Keyla’s.


End file.
